Rupee weakens by 7 paise to 64.11 vs US dollar

The rupee failed to hold onto early gains and eventually ended lower by 7 paise at 64.11 against the US currency due to bouts of dollar demand from importers.
Lacklustre local equity markets along with sustained capital outflows too weighed on the currency trade.
Overall forex market sentiment was a bit shaky and witnessed lethargic trade ahead of a final vote on the US tax legislation later today.
The home currency traded in a narrow band after hitting a fresh 3-month high of 64 in early trade.
It had ended at a 3-month high yesterday.
Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) net sold shares worth Rs 407.83 crore yesterday.

Meanwhile, after scaling fresh historic highs, the key indices retreated on profit-taking at higher levels and some caution ahead of the release of the minutes from the RBI's policy meeting earlier this month amid lack of fresh triggers.

The benchmark Sensex dropped over 59 points to end at 33,777.38, while Nifty shed 19 points at 10,444.20.
At the Interbank Foreign Exchange (forex) market, the rupee opened higher at 64.00 as compared to Tuesday's close of 64.01 largely tracking firm domestic equities.
Later, it slipped to trade in a tight range band due to lack of triggers and gradually touched an intra-day low of 64.13 before settling at 64.11, showing a loss of 7 paise, or 0.11 per cent.

The RBI, meanwhile, fixed the reference rate for the dollar at 64.0577 and for the euro at 75.8251.
The dollar index, which measures the greenback's value against a basket of six major currencies, was up at 93.07 in early trade.
On the global front, the greenback held steady against other major currencies in a subdued trade, as progress on a major US tax reform bill offered no support.
In cross-currency trades, the rupee fell back against the pound sterling to finish at 85.89 from 85.70 per pound and also declined against the euro to end at 75.93 from 75.63 yesterday.

The local unit, however, remained firm against the Japanese yen to close at 56.68 per 100 yens from 56.87 earlier.
In forward market today, premium for dollar maintained its steady downtrend owing to sustained receiving from exporters.
The benchmark six-month premium payable in May declined to 122-124 paise from 125-127 paise and the far forward October 2018 contract also edged down to 259-261 paise from 262-264 paise.
On the global energy front, crude prices inched up largely supported by expectations of a fall in US crude inventories and by the ongoing outage of the North Sea Forties pipeline system.
The Brent crude futures, an international benchmark, for oil prices, were at USD 63.86 a barrel in early Asian trade.